Tentering-machine.



- No. 742,107. l PATENTED 0017.20, 1903.

A. A. WHITLBY. TENTBRING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION'IILED J`ULY 1'7 1902.

N0 'MODELl 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED 00T. 20,1903.

I' No. 742,107.

A A. WHITLBY. TENTERING MACHINE. APPLIOATION'PILED JULY 1'1, 1902'.

a' snBnTs-sgn'nr 2.

H0 MODEL.

s Evans co No. 7425107. PATENTED 00T. 20,1903.

A. A. WHITLEY.`

TENTERING MACHINE. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 17. 1902.

N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N. 74am?,

`UNITED STATES Patented october 2o, 1963.

PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED AUSTIN wHiTLEY, oF BURY', ENGLAND.

TENTERIN'GiMACHINE. i

sPncIEIcATIoN forming part of Lettersratenc No. 742,107, dated october 2o, 1903.

Application filed J'uly 17, 1902.

To all. whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, ALFRED AUSTIN WHiT- LEY, engineer, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland,"residing at 2 Malvern Villas, Chesham Road, Bury, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tentering- .Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relatesV to tenteringmachines, and has `for its object to provide improved means whereby the extent of longitudinal reciprocating motion imparted to the side rails on lwhich the endless chains of tenter hooks or clips travel can be varied-as required without varying the stroke of the swiss rod or shaft and the distance kbetween the side rails can be varied to suit fabrics of different widths without varying the strok'e'of the side rails.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan of so much of a tentering-machine as is necessary to illustrate my invention. Fig.

2 is a vertical section on the line 2 2, Fig. 1,

showing on alarger scale the mechanismfor varying the extent ofmovement of the side rails. Fig. 3 isa plan correspondingto Fig.

2. Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional elevations at right angles to each other of a portion of the gearing by which the distance between the side rails can be varied, and Fig. 6 is an elevation of one of the bridges or supports for the side rails.

The side rails A, on which the endless chains of clips travel, are supported at or near each end and also at suitable intermediate parts upon pairs of armsor brackets B,mou nted so as to be free to pivot on supports or bridges C, as shown in Fig. 6. Fitted to slide on each arm or bracket is ablock D, provided 'With'a stud or projection d, which studs entersockets in the under side of the rails A. Mounted in bearings a on each pair of arms AB is a rod E, having rightand left handed screw-threads, which workVv in corresponding screw-threaded holes in the blocks D, so that by rotating the rods' E in their bearings a the blocks D will be caused to slide on the arms B and carry with them the side rails A nearer to or farther from each other, according to the direction in which the rods E are rotated.

Longitudinal reciprocating motion is im- Serial No. 115,980. (No model.)

parted to the side rails A in the known man# yner byy means of a transverse pivoted rod or lswiss-shaft F, receiving rocking movement on its pivot by means of eccentrics Gr, the straps Aof which are connected to vertical levers g, having their upper ends connected by rods G' .studs I, on which are mounted pieces K, ca-

pable of sliding on transverse bars L, which are affixed to the under side of the rails A.l Engaging in grooves h in each of the collars '7o H are forked levers M, having internal screw-threaded bases engaging right and l left handed screw-threads on a transverse rod or spindle N, so that by rotating this rod or s spindle N by means of a hand-Wheel nthe col- A lars H on the swiss-rod F can be adjusted nearer to or farther from each other and from the pivot on which the said swiss-rod oscillates, audthereby vary, as required, the longitudinal movement. of the side rails A. 8o Mounted loosely on the swiss-rod F, at the center'thereof, is a wormwhe`el b, gearing with a corresponding wheel c, loosely mounted on the screwed rod or spindle N, the latter wheel having clutch-teeth adapted to engage with a clutch-block d', fitted to slide along but rotatable with the screwed spindle N.4 The clutch-block d' has a groove therein, in which engages a piece d2, carried onrods e, Y which rods are capable of being slid in bear- 9o ings in arms e', projecting from brackets E', which support the ends of the swiss-rod F. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, a pivot-stud s supports this swiss-rod at its central point beneath the worm m and midway between the rails. At the outer ends of the swissrod, Figs. 2 and 3, there is a bracket E', secured to the rod and carrying at e the guides for Y the rods e e, as shown in Fig. 2. A block s" may be located beneath this bracket E' as a loo support on which the bracket may slide as the swiss-bar is oscillated on its pivot s. Therods e are also connected to arms e2, which project from a collar e3, engaged in a groove formed in the boss of the hand-wheel n, before referred to, which boss is provided with clutch-teeth, caused by a springfin the boss of the wheel n to engage with corresponding teeth in a clutch-blockf', fast on the screwed rod or spindle N. To turn the spindleN for the purpose of adjusting the position of the collars H on the swiss-rod F without altering the distance between the side rails, the hand-wheel n is first pulled outward against the counteracting pressure of the spring fso as to disengage the teeth of the clutch-block cl from the clutch-teeth on the wheel c, the teeth on the boss of the hand-wheelnl still remaining engaged with the teeth on the clutchblock f'. Then by rotating the hand-wheel n the collars H can be adjusted on the swissrod F to any position required. So soon as the hand-wheel n is released the springf by expanding forces the teeth of the clutch d into engagement with the corresponding teeth on the wheel c.

On a shaft O, which receives rotary motion by gearing from a steam engine or other motor, is loosely mounted a spur-wheel P, gearing with a corresponding wheel P on a transverse shaft Q, carrying the eccentrics G, which impart the oscillating movements to the swiss-rod F, the boss of the said looselymounted spur-wheel P having clutch-teeth with which a clutch-block g, slidable on the shaft O and operated by a lever R, is caused to engage when it is desired to oscillate the swiss-rod on its pivot, the wheel P then rotating with the shaft O and transmitting through the wheel P' rotation to the shaft Q, which carries the eecentrics G. The shaft O imparts through bevel-wheels S rotation to a longitudinal shaft T, from which motion is transmitted through gearing in the wellknown manner to the chains of clips, which travel on the side rails A. On the longitudinal shaft T are loosely mounted two bevelwheels U, between which two wheels is a clutch-block V, slidable on the shaft T, but rotatable with the said shaft. This clutchblock is provided on its opposite sides with teeth to engage with corresponding teeth provided on each of the bevel-wheels U, the said clutch-block having an annular groove therein in which engages a forked arm fi, carried on a rock-shaft or spindle 7c, provided with a hand-lever Z, by means of which the forked arm can be operated to cause the clutchblock V to engage with either of the wheels U or moved into an intermediate position, so as to be out of gear with both wheels. Gearing with the two wheels U is a bevel-wheel W, fast on the lower end of an inclined shaft X, on the upper end of which inclined shaft is another bevel-wheel Y, in gear with a bevelwheel Z on a shaft m, extending longitudinallyalong the center of the machine above the swiss-rod F and below the right and left handed screw-threaded rods Ephereinbefore referred to. On the shaft m are worms m', one of which gears with the loose worm-Wheel b on the swiss-rod F, the other worms gearing with worm-wheels p, fast on the screwthreaded rods E, so that when the shaft m is rotated rotation will be transmitted through the worms fm and worm-wheels p to the screwed rods E and also to the rod N through the worm-wheel b on the swiss-rod F and the wheel c on the said rod N.

If it be required to alter the distance bctween the side rails without altering the stroke of the said side rails,the clutch-block d is first disengaged from the clutch-teeth on the worm-wheel c and held out of gear while the shaft m is being rotated to adjust the position of the said side rails.

The rods E and N may both be rotated by rod lml to cause each side rail and transverse bar L to be moved toward or away from the other side rail and transverse bar, according to the direction in which the shaft m is rotated, and thus alter the distance between the side rails A. The shaft m is rotated in the direction required by sliding the clutchblock V on the shaft T by means of the handlever Z, so as to cause the said clutch-block V to engage with the teeth on one or other of the loosely mounted bevel-wheels U, the wheel thus engaged being then caused to rotate with the shaft T and impart through the bevel-wheels W' and Y on the inclined shaft X and the wheel Z on the shaft m rotation to the said shaft m.

I claim as my inventionl. A tentering-machine having side rails a swiss-rod, connections between the swissrod and side rails and means to oscillate said swiss-rod, in combination with screw-rods adapted to move the rails toward or away from each other, means for operating said screwrods, and means for adjusting the connections between the swiss-rod and side rails to change their extent of movement, substantially as described.

2. In a tentering-machine, the combination of side rails, an oscillating swiss -rod and means forimparting movements of oscillation thereto, collars loosely mounted on the swissrod, slidable pieces pivoted on the collars, and transverse bars, said collars supporting the side rails and movable transversely with relation to said bars, a rod parallel to the swiss-rod and having right and left hand screw-threads, forked levers engaging the threads on the screw-threaded rod and grooves in the collars on the swiss-rod, and means for rotating the screw-threaded rod so as to simultaneously adjust the position of the collars on the swiss-rod, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a tentering-machine, the combination of side rails, a swiss-rod, means for imparting oscillating motion thereto and screwthreaded rods for adjusting the distance between the side rails, with loose collars on the swiss-rod, a worm-wheel on the swiss-rod and on each of the screw-threaded rods, a shaft carrying worms gearing with the worm-wheels IOO IIO

IIS

. which the side rails are connected, of a right and left hand screw-threaded rod arranged parallel to the said swissrod,vcollars slidably connected to the swiss-rod, grooves in thecollars, internally-screw-thread'ed forked levers on the said screw-threaded rod engaging the grooves in the slidable collars, a worm-wheel loosely 'mounted on the screw-threaded rod in gear with a Worm-wheel mounted loosely on the swiss-rod, clutch-teeth on the worm- Wheel on the screw-threaded rod, a clutchblock rotatable with and slidable on the screw-threaded rod and normally engaged with the clutch-teeth on the worm-wheel, a shaft having a worm in gear with the Wormwheel on the swiss-rod and means for rotating in either direction, as desired, the shaft having theworm, so as to impart through the Worm-Wheels on the swiss-rod and the screw-threaded rod rotation to the latter, to adj ust the position of the collars on the swissrod, and means for disengaging the clutchblock from the clutch-teeth on the Worm-` wheel on the screw-threaded rod, whereby the screw-threaded rod can be rotated to adjust the position 'of the collars on the swissrod without rotating the'aforesaid shaft carrying the worm, substantiallyas hereinbefore described.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED AUSTIN WHITLEY.

Witnesses:

SAML. F. BUTCHER, A RATCLIFFE WALLACE TAYLOR. 

